Down the Ballot

Sunday, July 27, 2014

GSY: Sex Tape

sorta my reaction to the film.

I'm not even trying to play catch up anymore. I still had two movies to write about and went and saw another one this last week. This Go Screen Yourself is about Sex Tape. I'll get to the point. I thought the acting was fine. The story was very poor. Not that I don't think the idea, in our day and age is a far fetched one at all. As one of the characters point out towards the end of the film, thousands upon thousands of sex tapes are filmed and uploaded every day. The story surrounding the fictional sex tape produced by the characters played by Segel and Diaz just wasn't that good.

***spoilers to follow***

There was little to the story outside of the actual making and losing of the sex tape. Which left a few plot holes, which seemed critical to the story. For instance, I thought it was a neat plot twist to make the villain; a snotty, too smart for his own brain, son of Segel's best friend (played by Rob Corddy). That was a twist the audience wouldn't be necessarily expecting. The problem they ran into is not explaining what the kids beef is with Segel and Diaz. Especially if he is the best friend of their kid! Why did Howard feel the need to torture and blackmail this couple? In the film, the only interaction Segel and the kid have is this awkward exchange about if his name is Howard or Howie. That was it. There was nothing deeper.

The supporting cast was under utilized. Jack Black, Rob Corddy, and Rob Lowe are some comedy powerhouses, that no disrespect to Diaz and Segel intended, should have been showcased a bit more. Jack Black played his small part wonderfully. I could believe he was a porn site owner. Rob Lowe's character was introduced in order to throw the audience for a twist later on and aside from his running Disney gag, I didn't see much to his character.

The biggest let down of all came from what Rob Corddy was given to work with. He played a boring married guy with a kid. Not a lot of room there to make the character stand out, especially when you get stuck in a car for the best part of the film.

Diaz gave it her all I thought in this film. Even if her story elements were as weak as other characters. Again the story is the big hang up, not the acting. Her co-star on the other hand seemed oddly out of place. Perhaps it is the problem of being fresh of a hit sitcom (though Neil Patrick Harris did well in his recent film adventure). It could also be that, at least from my perspective his acting until now hasn't been 'leading actor' level acting. Don't get me wrong. Segel is a very talented and can be incredibly funny. If you haven't seen Freaks & Geeks, or Forgetting Sarah Marshall and even the Muppets you should go see them. He does well. I just think he does better when he's part of an ensemble.

Neither Diaz or Segel's characters had any real depth to them. When the whole lesson of the SEX TAPE has to be told to you by Jack Black's character....I expect we will see great things from Jason Segel and Cameron Diaz in the future. They'll have a fair share of hits (as well as misses like this film).